Cry to Me
by Ambrosine
Summary: Dawn stays with Angel in L.A. so Buffy can handle Glory. A friendship develops. DA
1. Default Chapter

Author: Ambrosine Eyes

Rating: G for now…unsure of future rating

Author's notes: This is somewhere near the end of Season 5 of Buffy and 2 of Angel. Angel and co. haven't gone to Pylea yet, and Glory hasn't taken Dawn yet. Basically, Buffy gets smart and sends her sister to Angel. I get the feeling he can protect her better…don't ask why. I got this idea from a couple other Dawn/Angel friendship stories and wanted to do one of my own. I don't know where this is going but I want it to be different than the other ones I've read so far. They just sparked my imagination. There isn't enough Dawn/Angel interaction out there anyway. Hope you like it.

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Dawn pondered how she had gotten to that point, driving in Spike's Desoto to L.A. She always kept her mind on the little things, like the newest Bitchy Mc. Bitch in school, or (gasp) doing her Algebra homework but today she couldn't focus on the little things. Not even if she tried. Her mom was dead, she was a friggin key that opened mystical portals, and the ho-goddess from _Planet Slut_ wanted to use her to get back to wherever she came from. This couldn't even be considered a normal day on the hellmouth. So now Spike was driving her to her sister's **ex-boyfriend** for protection. She was under the protection of the broody-king himself because the Scoobies could no longer protect her, and needed to hide her away until they could officially deal with Glory.

Dawn remembered Angel. Angelus, whoever he was. She remembered him, and she feared him. His eyes were unlike anyone's she'd ever seen. Some would've likened them to dark pools of chocolate. Not her, maybe if she hadn't known him and had been passing him on a street in some other universe. But that wasn't the case. He was an attractive man (vampire), but his eyes haunted Dawn. She didn't know how her sister could've dated someone with eyes like that boring into her. When he had a soul, they were mildly unsettling and beautiful, in a haunted kind of way. When he lost the soul his eyes were pure, unadulterated … sin. She would say attractive, if he hadn't of been a killer. They were like looking into a beautiful doll or portrait. Nothing was behind them. She didn't think someone's eyes could change like that. That was what separated Angel and Angelus in her mind. His eyes were the tell-tale sign of Angel and Angelus; which she was looking into for the first time in two years.

She caught glimpses of him during her sister's senior year of high school, but the last time she had spoken with him was when he had been soulless. Of course she hadn't known that at the time. At the tender age of eleven, she had no idea that vampires, slayers, or keys existed. All she knew was that her sister's handsome yet creepy boyfriend was visiting her in the middle of the night. That didn't ring warning bells with her like it should have, as curious as she was. She even courteously opened the bedroom window for him.

"Hi" She said as she watched him climb gracefully into her bedroom from the window.

He chuckled. "Hello Dawn- couldn't sleep?"

"I..yeah, Buffy was out late again, she woke me up but I pretended not to see her" She said with the openness that only youth could give.

"That's too bad" He said with a mocking face. "Children need their sleep"

"I'm NOT a child!" She huffed, pouting and crossing her arms.

Angelus chuckled again at the spunky pre-teen, "Just kidding, little one- go back to sleep….I'll _protect_ you" He put emphasis on protect, but Dawn didn't notice, like she didn't notice how his eyes darkened as evil plans went through his head. Dawn just slipped back into her bed, and went to sleep. Fortunately, she never saw the picture he had done of her as she slept. Her usually, unblemished skin battered with bruises that scared Buffy to death. Her hair in braids-the picture of childlike innocence; were splattered with blood. That would've given Joyce a heart attack if she'd ever seen the portrait. Dawn had never seen that portrait, the likeness of her scarily accurate. She never saw the look on her sister's face as she found it on her bedside table. All she remembered was her sister's boyfriend protecting her as she went to sleep. She pretended he was Angel now when she thought about it, because if she couldn't pretend it was him she would never be able to look into his eyes and feel safe ever again.


	2. Discomfort

Dawn couldn't help but smirk at the petrified look on Angel's face. Once Spike had left, Angel couldn't have looked more uncomfortable. His entrance caused bouts of glaring between the two headstrong vampires. Spike gave her a quick pat on the back and a "Good luck, nibblet" before one last glare at his sire. The moonlight shined on his peroxide locks as he left and Dawn couldn't help but give a sigh of appreciation at his exit. He was wearing a very tight pair of jeans as per usual, but she didn't normally get that good of a view (and damn, was it a good view!). Angel gave her a puzzled look before attempting to speak. She almost forgot how uncomfortable she was because of how uncomfortable he was. It was quite amusing when she thought about it, and gave Angel one of her mega-watt grins.

He smiled in return for a moment, but couldn't figure out anything useful to say. What did one talk about with a teenager, especially one who was your ex-girlfriends sister who he had no 'real' memories of? Tense silence followed before she let him out of his misery…

"So-you live in a hotel…that's cool" She commented, her gaze focusing on the finer details of his gothic residence.

"Well, I work here too" He told her, not sure what else to say.

She quirked an eyebrow "So, which rooms mine- do I get a good view and room service?"

"Oh, right- well I found a room near mine with working water and electricity….I" he paused "I don't know about a view though" He said guiltily, his brows furrowing.

"I was kidding Angel" She told him, with a brave poke to his stomach before picking up her bag and heading up the staircase ahead of him.

"Oh" He sighed, and caught up with her. He had no clue how to act around teenagers, and he also had no clue how long she was going to have to stay here. Buffy really owed him for this one.

Once he had shown Dawn the room he had prepared (which, incidentally, did have a view), he avoided further contact by going to take a shower. Of course, being the polite vamp he was- offered to get her anything she needed first but Dawn declined.

The quiet loneliness of the room made Dawn notice how awful the situation really was. She has blocked it away into the farthest recesses in her mind the moment she had reached the Hyperion Hotel, but it all flooded back to her. She didn't know how long she would have to stay in the drafty, old hotel away from what was left of her family. The uncomfortable feeling of being around Angel came back fully, and she resisted the urge to throw up. She was so far away from home.

She looked out onto the streets of Los Angeles. She really did have quite a view. The night air flowed into the building from the open window. She could hear the heavy traffic, and the sounds of the city that were so different from Sunnydale. It was then that she started to cry.

Angel just got out of the shower and heard sounds coming from another part of the hotel. He tensed, wondering if it was an intruder and quickly wrapped a towel around his waist heading towards the hallway. He stalked down towards where the sound was coming from. He realized it was Dawn…..she was crying. The muffled sobs drew him to the partly open door. He peeked in and watched his charge. He was startled by the resemblance to her sister, and had to stop himself from taking a step back. Dawns locks, nearly reaching her lower back, were much darker than Buffy's golden strands but she furrowed into them the same way his ex-girlfriend did. He just noticed how much her face had changed since he had last seen her. She had the same lips and eyes as her sister. It was uncanny how much they looked alike. Her body was longer, and more petite than her sister's. The girl was all leg. He stopped his perusal, when he started to smell the salt from her tears. His heart went out to her. He was unsure what to do. He hesitated…and that was when Dawn saw him. Tears continued to run down her face, as she looked up at him. Curiosity mixed with despair, and Angel wrapped his arms around her small frame. Her muffled cries became outright sobs as he held her. She beat his chest in anger, and he continued to hold her.

"It's alright little one, I'll take care of you" He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. Dawn froze, and they both remembered the night he had visited her while he was soulless but neither of them commented on it. She pushed back, and finally looked at him. Then, she looked at his chest and blushed. Angel was confused as hell, now. It was when the smell of arousal permeated the air that sense came back to him. He was reminded of his state of undress, and made a hasty exit for the door.

"Ah..." he wasn't sure what to say, as always when he was around the teenager. She certainly did have mood swings.

"You have a tattoo…I never noticed it before" She interrupted him.

"Wha- oh"

"I like it" She stated simply, while he was still in shock over the change of events.

His brow furrowed for what Dawn thought was the fiftieth time that night. "I have to go get dressed" he said and then sensed Dawn's disappointment at his excuse to leave. "I'll be back in a couple minutes and we can talk" He amended. The girl just nodded.

"Oh, and Angel" she called out at his retreating figure. He glanced back at her.

"Thanks" She said simply with a tired smile. He smiled back at her, and the discomfort seemed to wash away.


End file.
